Lying by omission. Real estate news this winter.

Lying by omission. Real estate news this winter.

It is so easy to use a tiny sample and a hyperbolic headline to prime potential buyers to get ready to buy desperately. Don’t fall for it!

Real estate owner-favoring propaganda is alive and well, and not frozen-over for the winter. Recently, an article appeared online with the title, “Five Somerville 1-BRs You Can Buy Now For Under $450K.” Let this be a lesson in reading for all would-be buyers:

The headline is deceiving: All samples are for sale or selling for significantly below $450,000. One condo was asking $410,000. The others were asking $289,000-$340,000. Reading that title, you could easily assume that $450,000 is a good price for a one-bedroom condo in Somerville. In fact, it is a higher price than any of their examples.

The article is based on a tiny sample.

One-bedroom units are relatively rare in Somerville. Only a few are for sale at any given time.

Between Christmas and mid-February is typically the time when buyers have the lowest number of options for sale. This is a well-known seasonal pattern.

Considering this, there’s nothing shocking about the fact that there were only five condo units for sale that met the search criteria for the article.

Two-bedroom condos are a better deal than one-bedroom condos. They are more available and not that much more expensive.

One-bedroom condos are not as good an investment as a two-bedroom condo.

One-bedroom condos are not as comfortable to live in, long term. (Office/guest room/roommate room is a big plus.)

Two-bedroom condos are more available and are available under $450,000.

In the MLS, at the same time period as the article I mentioned, there were five two-bedroom condos under $450,000 for sale.